Goodbye 2010… Some closing thoughts on a tough year.

Ahhh…. New Year Eve’s eve…. Can I call it that?  I guess if I am writing this post, I can call it whatever I want.  Regardless, I am sitting here and taking a moment or two to reflect on the year that is about to be done.

2010… I am guessing that for most, it will be remembered as a trying year – a year that thickened our skin and toughened our hearts.  Everyone was somehow affected by the economy… and if you weren’t, well, you are either lying or too young to know that it is affecting you!  Being in real estate, I got to see a lot of the struggles first hand.  I sat down with numerous people who were losing their jobs, losing their homes and losing their sanity.  Now hopefully I am not coming across as though I remained unscathed by what has been happening all around us.  I own a house that was bought in 2006, I own a rental property that I had an opportunity to sell in 2006 (and passed on it) and my livelihood depends on the ability to help people make good decisions about buying and selling homes.  So, I would say that I have “felt” what is going on all around us – in fact, some might argue that I witness more than most.

So, yes… 2010, in my mind, will be remembered as a year in which life got harder.  But more importantly, I will remember 2010 as a year in which there were so many successes.  This past year I got to do the following:  Marry my best friend after 8 years; qualified for every national riding competition that I had hoped for; helped my mom official kick her cancer’s ass for good (yep, she’s doing AWESOME);  grew the Chicago Home Partner team by bringing on a great new team member; and believe it or not, led Chicago Home Partner to have its best year EVER – in other words, more homes sold than any other year.  Pretty amazing year, huh?  I thought so too… And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of celebrating all of the loved ones that I am so blessed to have as part of my life every day.

So, as I said above, 2010, in my mind, WILL be remembered as a year in which life got harder… the difference is that I got tougher.  I had no rose colored lenses to blind me from what was happening.  I just refused to give up without a fight.  And trust me, there were days, more than most will ever know, that I felt as though there was no fight left in me.  There were days that I was working so hard, that I felt as though I could literally taste blood in my mouth.  (Anyone that has ever worked themselves to the bone knows exactly that feeling I just described!) I worked and worked and worked… to be a better daughter, to be a better wife, to be a better real estate advisor, to be a better rider, to be a better friend, to be a better mentor… I think that you get the drift.  The point is that I worked hard and refused to believe that my life could be totally overcome by anyone or anything but me.  Now trust me, my efforts were not perfect… there were mistakes made, tempers lost and sleepless nights along the way.  BUT, today, I sit here and I know that I put up a fight.  I know that I was able to make a “tough” year, a little more bearable… both for myself and hopefully for some others in my life.  To those people that trusted me to be their friend, to be their agent/advisor, to be their person… I am indebted to you.  It is through you that I make myself a better person.  So, thank you.

So, where do we go from here… 2010 is coming to a close.  It was tough, but it was good!  2011… honestly is not going to be any easier.  But on the flip side, I am hoping that it can live up to all of the success that 2010 brought too.  I think that we all just need to remember that we all have a little fight inside of us.

So, it is definitely very true… our lives are what we make of it.  My wish for you in the new year is that you can DREAM BIG…. I sure am.

With Love,

Amanda